The land around the Sheraton Maui has been significantly altered since this undated photo was taken, but the sea and the cliffs of Black Rock, called Pu‘u Keka‘a in Hawaiian, look the same today.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

The land around the Sheraton Maui has been significantly altered...

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Opened in 1963, the Sheraton Maui (at right) was the first official hotel within Kāʻanapali Beach Resort, although others soon followed as part of the resort's master plan, developed by landowner Pioneer Mill in 1957.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

Opened in 1963, the Sheraton Maui (at right) was the first official...

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The Sheraton-Maui Hotel, as it was called when it opened in January 1963, offered award-winning architecture on a historically significant site, Puʻu Kekaʻa, the promontory nicknamed Black Rock. It also offered rooms for just $15 a night.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

The Sheraton-Maui Hotel, as it was called when it opened in January...

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The Sheraton Maui's distinctively round, six-room bungalows were later removed during a $160 million redevelopment that kept the resort closed from 1995 to 1997.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

The Sheraton Maui's distinctively round, six-room bungalows were...

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There are no sunglasses strong enough to shield the eyes from Sheraton Maui's 1970s-era room decor.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

There are no sunglasses strong enough to shield the eyes from...

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This undated aerial photo from the Sheraton Maui's early years shows a number of features that were later changed or removed during the major remodeling from 1995 to 1997.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

This undated aerial photo from the Sheraton Maui's early years...

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The cars were big when the Sheraton Maui opened in 1963, but the traffic was light on the newly built Kāʻanapali Parkway, today lined with beachfront hotels, condominiums and stores.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

The cars were big when the Sheraton Maui opened in 1963, but the...

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The first nine holes of the Royal Kāʻanapali Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, opened in June 1962. Then called the Royal Lahaina Golf Course golf course, it saw the remaining nine holes open that December, along with the 31 privately owned cottages in the first phase of the Royal Lahaina Beach Club (now the Royal Lahaina Resort.)

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

The first nine holes of the Royal Kāʻanapali Course, designed by...

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While much of the exterior of the modern Sheraton Maui echoes that of the 1963 original, these groovy lobby fountains have been removed.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

While much of the exterior of the modern Sheraton Maui echoes that...

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Prices on the 1960s-era menu from the Sheraton Maui may inspire nostalgia; the food descriptions, not so much.

Photo: Sheraton Maui Archives

Prices on the 1960s-era menu from the Sheraton Maui may inspire...

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Long known for its sunset torch-lighting and cliff dive sponsored by the Sheraton Maui, Black Rock (Pu‘u Keka‘a in Hawaiian) also attracts amateur jumpers such as this one. It's best to leave this stunt to the experts.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, Special To SFGate

Long known for its sunset torch-lighting and cliff dive sponsored...

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Gentlemen, welcome to the rock — Black Rock, or Pu‘u Keka‘a, the promontory and Hawaiian cultural landmark that has also been part of the 50-year-old Sheraton Maui's claim to fame.

This year's 50th anniversary of the Sheraton Maui — the grande dame of Kāʻanapali Beach Resort, which itself turned 50 in December — is cause for both celebration and reflection. Those who remember the cane fields and beaches before Pioneer Mill developed the first planned vacation resort in the islands, a process that started in 1957, understandably have nostalgia for the old Hawai'i of plantation days. And the Hawaiian cultural legacy of historic battlefields, ancient taro patches and legends, many of which are shared in Hyatt Regency Maui's excellent Drums of the Pacific Luau and on the resort's historical trail guide, should never be forgotten.

But one can also be nostalgic when viewing photos from the hotel's early days, including its grand opening in January 1963, an event that drew celebrities from Bing Crosby and Sam Snead to California's first family (our current governor's parents, Pat and Bernice Brown) and prompted the first mainland commercial flight to Maui (on a United DC-8, which island residents were invited to tour.) The soon-to-be-swinging '60s and the laidback island vibe had a special synergy on Maui, and the Sheraton's distinctive architecture — selected for by New York's Museum of Modern Art for its "Architecture USA" exhibition that toured behind the Iron Curtain in the 1960s — made Hawai'i seem a place for innovation as well as tradition. And who doesn't miss the days of $15 a night beachfront hotel rooms?

With a gorgeous swath of beach, its own airstrip and the first 18-hole resort golf course, not to mention the master plan for five more hotels, expansion was inevitable. The Sheraton Maui quickly grew to 240 rooms (it now has 508 on 23 acres), while the enduringly low-key Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel and the first condominium complex opened in 1964. Today's Kāʻanapali may not be everyone's cup of kawa, but the resorts at either end are two of the best on Maui.

You can also experience the timeless beauty of West Maui by snorkeling at Puʻu Kekaʻa (Black Rock) — the iconic site of the Sheraton's long-running torch-lighting and cliff-diving ceremony — or simply turn your back to the high-rises as the sun sets somewhere between Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi, and bask in the golden glow.

To see more vintage photos from the Sheraton Maui and learn about 50th anniversary packages, click here.

Jeanne Cooper is the former Chronicle Travel Editor and author of SFGate's Hawaii Insider, a blog about Hawaii travel and island culture.